Terms & Conditions

Acceptance of Terms

The Almanis service, including the web site at www.almanis.com (the “Site”) and the mobile version thereof (collectively, the “Service”), are operated by slowVoice Pty. Ltd. and affiliates (collectively, “us”, “we”, “Almanis”, “slowVoice” or the “Company”). By accessing or using the Service, you (“you” or the “User”) signify that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use (“Terms of Use”), whether or not you are a registered member of Almanis. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or delete portions of these Terms of Use at any time without further notice. If we do this, we will post the changes to these Terms of Use on this page. Your continued use of the Service after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms of Use. If you do not agree to abide by these or any future Terms of Use, do not use or access (or continue to use or access) the Service. It is your responsibility to regularly check the Service to determine if there have been changes to these Terms of Use and to review such changes.

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, REMEDIES AND OBLIGATIONS. THESE INCLUDE VARIOUS LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS, AND A DISPUTE RESOLUTION CLAUSE THAT GOVERNS HOW DISPUTES WILL BE RESOLVED.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Almanis asserts that its design and operating methods are not subject to regulation as either a securities or gaming exchange in the UK, EU, USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Almanis stakes competitive rewards in return for the most accurate information and insightful comments about future events from forecasters. Gaming, securities and prediction markets all use a market mechanism in order to establish a clearing price between buyers and sellers. However the key incentives to achieve those outputs, in real money exchanges can differ:

gaming : monetises recreational utility for gamblers where exchange signals simply reflect the prevailing clearance price and the exchange takes a percentage of the players’ stake

securities : monetises trading and hedging by investors, hedgers, arbitrageurs and speculators where exchange signals simply reflect the prevailing clearance price and the exchange takes a percentage of the traders value traded

information : forecasts the likelihood of future events and monetises those signals while paying real money performance incentives to accurate forecasters and forecasters do not stake their claims

Unlike gaming and securities exchanges, the purpose of Almanis is to generate forecast signals and narratives that in turn improve judgement and decision making. It does not use player stakes. The fundamental economic incentive of a trader staked prediction market (other than a research platform) is not to provide forecasts but to extract money from forecasters:

Forecasters’ stakes fund the market.

The market’s operators take a percentage.

Generally, a minority of skilled forecasters dominate a pool of unskilled forecasters. Because of the player stakes, the result is an ongoing subsidy from the majority of players to a small minority.

Because of these features, whether the forecast involves chance or skill, in a trader staked prediction market, the underlying character is that of gambling. This is recognized in the sporting arena where professional gamblers are usually banned from participating, or operators reserve such rights. At best, trader staked prediction markets derive forecasts in a parasitic relationship with forecasters. Almanis seeks opinion, not money, from its forecasters. The relationship between forecaster and Almanis is mutualistic. Forecasters who help contribute to the generation of accurate forecast signals or important insights are rewarded on the basis of their skill in forecasting without the need for their financial risk capital.

Eligibility

This Site is intended solely for Users who are eighteen (18) years of age or older. Any registration by, use of or access to the Service by anyone under 18 is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation of these Terms of Use. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older, and that you agree to and to abide by all of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use

Registration Data and Account Security

In consideration of your use of the Service, you agree to (a) provide accurate, current and complete information about you as may be prompted by any registration forms on the Service (“Registration Data”); (b) maintain the security of your password and identification; (c) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data, and any other information you provide to the Company, to keep it accurate, current and complete; and (d) be fully responsible for all use of your account and for any actions that take place using your account.

Site Content

You understand that all postings, messages, text, images or other materials (“Content”) posted or published on, uploaded to, transmitted through, or linked from (hereinafter, “post” or “posted”), the Service are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. You understand that Almanis does not control, and is not responsible for, Content made available through the Service, and that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise objectionable. Furthermore, the Site and Content available through the Service may contain links to other websites which are completely independent of Almanis. Almanis makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such site. Your linking to any other websites is at your own risk. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, that you may not rely on said Content, and that under no circumstances will Almanis, its affiliates, or partners be liable in any way for any Content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted or otherwise made available via the Service. You acknowledge that Almanis does not pre-screen or approve Content, but that Almanis shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse, delete or remove any Content that is available via the Service, in connection with violations of the letter or spirit of the Terms of Use or for any other reason.

Almanis, its affiliates and partners, shall have no liability for investment or other decisions based upon any Content and/or decisions based upon a contrarian view of any Content. The Content is to be used for informational and entertainment purposes only and we cannot provide investment advice for any individual. We advise that you contact your personal financial advisers before making any investment related to any information received from the Site. Almanis, its affiliates and partners specifically disclaim any and all liability or loss arising out of any action taken in reliance on Content, including but not limited to market value or other loss on the sale or purchase of any company, property, product, service, security, instrument, or any other matter.

User Content Posted on the Service

You are solely responsible for the Content that you post on or through the Service, or otherwise transmit to or share with other Users (collectively, the “User Content”). You may not post or share User Content on the Service that you did not create or that you do not have permission to post. You acknowledge that Almanis does not pre-screen or approve User Content, but that Almanis shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse, delete or remove any User Content that is available via the Service, in connection with violations of the letter or spirit of the Terms of Use or for any other reason. You are solely responsible at your sole cost and expense for creating backup copies and replacing any User Content you post or store on the Service or otherwise provide to the Company. When you post User Content to the Service, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting and storage of the User Content on the Service. By posting User Content to any part of the Service, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Service or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. Please be advised that Almanis will not accept requests to remove User Content. Almanis does not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as between us and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these Terms of Use, you retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User Content.

Access to the Service

Almanis grants you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive license to access and use the Service and the Content for your own personal use. This license does not include any collection, aggregation, copying, duplication, display or derivative use of the Service nor any use of data mining, robots, spiders, or similar data gathering and extraction tools for any purpose unless expressly permitted by Almanis in writing. A limited exception is provided to general purpose internet search engines and non-commercial public archives that use such tools to gather information for the sole purpose of displaying hyperlinks to the Service. In order to collect, aggregate, copy, duplicate, display or make derivative use of the Service or any Content made available via the Service for other purposes (including commercial purposes) not stated herein, you must first obtain a written license from Almanis.

Proprietary Rights

The Service is protected to the maximum extent permitted by copyright laws and international treaties. Content displayed on or through the Service is protected by copyright as a collective work and/or compilation, pursuant to copyrights laws, and international conventions. Any reproduction, modification, creation of derivative works from or redistribution of the Service or the collective work, and/or copying or reproducing the Content or any portion thereof to any other server or location for non-personal use is prohibited without the express written consent of Almanis.

Trademarks

Almanis and other Company graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts and service names are registered trademarks, trademarks or trade dress of the Company in the Australia and/or other countries. The Company’s trademarks and trade dress may not be used, including as part of trademarks and/or as part of domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the Company.

User Conduct

You understand that except for advertising programs offered by us on the Service, the Service is available for your personal use only. You represent, warrant and agree that no User Content of any kind posted through your account or otherwise shared by you on or through the Service will violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary rights; be in violation of any law or used in furtherance of any such violation; or contain libelous, defamatory or otherwise unlawful material. In addition, you agree not to use the Service to:

in any unlawful manner or in any other manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Service;
post or otherwise make available any content that we deem to be harmful, threatening, unlawful, defamatory, infringing, abusive, inflammatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, fraudulent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;

impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity;

post or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;

post or otherwise make publicly available on the Service any private information of any third party, including addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers;

post or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;

post or otherwise make available content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law;

create or operate more than one user account. Participation on the Site is strictly personal;

collude with another user or users for the purposes of manipulating the award, transfer or use of points;

use or attempt to use another’s account, service or system without authorization from the Company, or create a false identity on the Service;

forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any information transmitted by you;

post or otherwise make available any information that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements); or

intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the UK Prudential Regulatory Authority, the Canadian Securities Administrators Organisation, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, the Australian Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange and any regulations having the force of law.

If you are deemed an ‘Insider’ by your employer or by a regulatory authority and have limitations on trading stocks, equities, shares or other financial instruments you should consider those same limitations apply to using the Site. In using the Site you warrant that you are not acting in your capacity as an insider.

User Performance Rewards

Monetary payments for user forecasting performance shall be awarded at the Company’s sole discretion and may be altered or removed at anytime for any reason or no reason at all. The Company may choose to exclude certain Users or groups of Users from eligibility to receive performance rewards at its own discretion with or without reason, including local laws.

Privacy

Click here to view the Almanis’s Privacy Policy. By using the Service, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions as used by the Service from time to time.

Disclaimers

The Company, its affiliates, and partners are not responsible or liable in any manner for any Content posted on the Service, whether posted or caused by Users, by Almanis, by third parties or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Service. Although we provide rules for User conduct and postings, we do not control and are not responsible for what Users post, transmit or share on the Service and are not responsible for any inaccurate, offensive, inappropriate, obscene, unlawful or otherwise objectionable Content you may encounter on the Service. The Company, its affiliates and partners are not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any User.

The Service may be temporarily unavailable from time to time for maintenance or other reasons. The Company assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, User Content. The Company is not responsible for any technical malfunction or other problems of any telephone network or service, computer systems, servers or providers, computer or mobile phone equipment, or software on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any site or with respect to the Service or combination thereof, including injury or damage to User’s or to any other person’s computer, mobile phone, or other hardware or software, related to or resulting from using or downloading Content in connection with the Web and/or in connection with the Service. Under no circumstances will the Company be responsible for any loss or damage, including any loss or damage to any User Content or personal injury or death, resulting from anyone’s use of the Service or any posted on or through the Service or transmitted to or by Users, or any interactions between Users, whether online or offline.

The Service may provide information from or links to certain brokerage companies for your convenience only. Almanis is not a registered broker-dealer and does not endorse or recommend the services of any brokerage company. The brokerage company you select (and not Almanis) is solely responsible for its services to you.

Almanis, ITS AFFILIATES, AND PARTNERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR COSTS OF ANY TYPE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES OF ANY BROKERAGE COMPANY.

THE SERVICE AND THE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND THE COMPANY, ITS PARTNERS AND AFFILIATES, DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE COMPANY CANNOT GUARANTEE AND DOES NOT PROMISE ANY SPECIFIC RESULTS FROM USE OF THE SERVICE. THE COMPANY DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT SOFTWARE, CONTENT OR MATERIALS ON THE SERVICE OR ELSEWHERE ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE, CURRENT OR ERROR-FREE OR THAT THE SERVICE OR ANY OF THE SERVERS USED TO OPERATE THE SERVICE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION IN THE USE AND DOWNLOADING OF ANY CONTENT OR MATERIALS AND USE INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED SOFTWARE TO DETECT AND DISINFECT VIRUSES. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN CONTENT, DATA OR OTHER MATERIAL FROM OR THROUGH THE SERVICE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR USE THEREOF AND ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR MOBILE DEVICE OR COMPUTER SYSTEM, LOSS OF DATA OR OTHER HARM OF ANY KIND THAT MAY RESULT.

The Company reserves the right to change any and all Content, software and other items used or contained in the Service at any time without notice. Reference to any products, services, processes or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Company.

Limitation on Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, OR ANY OF THE CONTENT OR OTHER MATERIALS ON, ACCESSED THROUGH OR DOWNLOADED FROM THE SERVICE, EVEN IF THE COMPANY OR ITS AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS IS AWARE OR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, THE LIABILITY OF THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES, PARTNERS, MEMBERS, MANAGERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU TO THE COMPANY FOR THE SERVICE IN THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING TWELVE MONTHS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF NO FEES ARE PAID TO THE COMPANY FOR THE SERVICE, YOU SHALL BE LIMITED TO INJUNCTIVE RELIEF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE PERMITTED BY LAW, AND SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO DAMAGES OF ANY KIND FROM THE COMPANY, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION.

CERTAIN JURISDICTION LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

Termination

The Company may terminate your account, delete your profile and any User Content that you have posted on the Service and/or prohibit you from using or accessing the Service for any reason, or no reason, at any time in its sole discretion, with or without notice, including if it believes that you are under 18.

Governing Law; Venue and Jurisdiction

By visiting or using the Service, you agree that the laws of the State of Victoria, Australia without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms of Use and any dispute of any sort that might arise between you and the Company. With respect to any disputes or claims not subject to arbitration (as set forth below), you agree not to commence or prosecute any action in connection therewith other than in the state and federal courts of Victoria, Australia and you hereby consent to, and waive all defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens with respect to, venue and jurisdiction in the state and federal courts of Victoria, Australia.

Arbitration

YOU AND THE COMPANY AGREE THAT THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE FORUM AND REMEDY FOR ANY AND ALL DISPUTES AND CLAIMS RELATING IN ANY WAY TO OR ARISING OUT OF THESE TERMS OF USE AND/OR THE SERVICE SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION, except that to the extent that either of us has in any manner infringed upon or violated or threatened to infringe upon or violate the other party’s patent, copyright, trademark or trade secret rights, or you have otherwise violated any of the User conduct rules set forth above, then the parties acknowledge that arbitration is not an adequate remedy at law and that injunctive or other appropriate relief may be sought.

Arbitration under this Agreement shall be conducted by the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (the “ACICA”) under its rules (the “ACICA Rules”). The location of the arbitration and the allocation of costs and fees for such arbitration shall be determined in accordance with such ACICA Rules. The arbitrator’s award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, NO ARBITRATION OR CLAIM UNDER THESE TERMS OF USE SHALL BE JOINED TO ANY OTHER ARBITRATION OR CLAIM, INCLUDING ANY ARBITRATION OR CLAIM INVOLVING ANY OTHER CURRENT OR FORMER USER OF THE SERVICE, AND NO CLASS ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS SHALL BE PERMITTED. In no event shall any claim, action or proceeding by you related in any way to the Service be instituted more than one (1) year after the cause of action arose.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of their members, managers, directors, officers, agents, contractors, partners and employees, harmless from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, arising out of or in connection with any Content you post or Content you share on or through the Service or otherwise, your conduct in connection with the Service or with other Users, or any violation of these Terms of Use or of any law, rule, regulation or order, or the rights of any third party. This indemnity shall survive any termination or cessation of use by you of the Service.

Submissions

You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback or other information about the Service (“Submissions”), provided by you to the Company are non-confidential and shall become the sole property of the Company. The Company shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these Submissions for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.

Other

No director, employee, agent or consultant of slowVoice and its subsidiaries, or their spouses, life partners, business partners or immediate family members, or the supplier of goods and services in connection with the Almanis site may be eligible for any part of the prize pool.

These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company regarding the use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and the Company relating to your use of the Service. The failure of the Company to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision in that or any other instance. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. If any provision of these Terms of Use shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms of Use and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.